A celebration of the
life and times of an extraordinary northern town

The origins of Fleetwood’s gas supply, bringing a key service to the town

It was a great day when improved gas mains and supply came to Fleetwood although a Gas Company was formed on 8th October 1840 with Charles Woodbine, foreman and William Woodbine, labourer. Abel Woodbine, 'labourer's boy', was paid four shillings a week. The gas holder then in use was 38 feet in diameter, 18 feet in depth, and there were constant complaints as to quality ...

The North Euston Hotel – a glimpse of Fleetwood life in centuries past

Shown in this postcard from the beginning of the century are two of Sir Decimus Burton's most famous Fleetwood building, the North Euston Hotel and the Lower Lighthouse on the right. The "keep off the grass" notice is being disobeyed, although the top-hatted gentleman approaching in the distance, who may have been a Town Commissioner, would perhaps see to its enforcement.
The blinds of the hotel ...

Fleetwood lifeboatmen, keeping our shores safe across the centuries

Seated on one of Fleetwood's old cannons is Jeff Wright, amongst a group of cheerful lifeboatmen, from a postcard printed in 1933. Standing (left to right) are Dick Abram, 'Coosh' Bill Wright, Jim Leadbetter, Dick Wright (son of 'Coosh'), Sid Hill and Barry Bond. Alongside Jeff is Bill Houston. Leadbetters, Wrights, Wilsons and Rimmers, some of Fleetwood's earliest residents as fishermen, also played heroic parts ...

When Fleetwood trawlers queued to come home – the bond between a town and its industry

In the aftermath of the 1939-45 war the fishing industry began to re-build the fleets around the coast.
Many trawlers had been lost in the conflict and the 1950s witnessed the arrival of replacement vessels including the modern diesels.
There were maiden voyages for several ships owned by the Boston firm including Boston Neptune, Pioneer, Seafoam and Typhoon.
Busier Times
Fleetwood was a bustling port – its trawlermen supported ...

The changing face of Lord Street throughout the 20th Century

Lord Street was not initially called Lord Street but was called West Street and East Street. It was West Street from Ash Street to Warren Street to Albert Square, and the change was made before the last war.
But when the town was first built this road was not intended to be the main street as it is now. Neither Sir Peter or Decimus Burton incorporated ...

Eating out in the Fleetwood of yesterday – more than fish and chips!

Whenever we have visitors one of the things I always insist on them doing is to have some of our (Fleetwood's that is) fish and chips. And preferably to eat them drenched in salt and vinegar in the open air from a newspaper, they are packed in a plastic carton which does not enhance the flavour in quite the same way that newspaper used to. ...

Fleetwood’s history: the storied birth of a very special northern town

Many thousands of years ago, Lancashire's coast line was 50 to 60 feet higher than it is today and geological research proves the existence of submarine forests.
This land covered with oak, birch, fir and ash must have been the stamping ground of wild boar and wolf. Amongst the sandbanks we now see off Fleetwood and the Fylde Coast, roots and trunks of trees have been ...

Fleetwood’s lost railway – the end of the line for the town’s beloved local rail link

In 1965 the railway dropped another bomb. Not just on the shop tenants this time, although it did seriously affect them, but it also concerned the whole town. Dr Beeching, a man previously never heard of, suddenly announced that in the interests of economy, many railway lines and stations were to be closed, the only ones left would be the main line stations in the ...